Office of Equity

Focus Areas

The Milwaukee County Office of Equity (OOE), formerly the Office on African American Affairs, brings a higher level of leadership, expertise and accountability to advance the county’s strategic goals of creating intentional inclusion, bridging the gap and investing in equity to help fulfill this vision. It provides advice, guidance and technical assistance to county leaders, divisions, boards and commissions, and municipalities to analyze policies, programs and initiatives to advance a more equitable community – one in which race no longer predicts health and quality of life outcomes but rather these outcomes improve for everyone.

OOE defines racial equity as the just and fair inclusion of people of color in a society where all people can participate, prosper and reach their full human potential. OOE makes this definition operational by:

• Building the capacity of county leaders, departments and municipalities
• Socializing shared language, definitions and concepts to apply a racial equity lens to all decision making
• Engaging county residents
• Facilitating the collective impact to assess and transform policies, practice and power structures to make Milwaukee a region where every citizen is welcomed, healthy and thriving

Service Areas

OOE’s focus is spread across four service areas with dedicated staff positions:

Health & Racial Equity

• Provides direct support and partnership to Milwaukee County leaders, departments and municipalities in identifying and remedying inequitable policies, processes and practices within and across the County and supporting internal and external and diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

Research & Policy

• Conducts equity policy analysis and building equity policy assessment capacity within departments and municipalities to drive countywide and regional equity research and policy advocacy initiatives.

Community Resilience

• Develops standard practices and frameworks for community engagement, and leading and supporting countywide community outreach initiatives and strategic partnerships with an emphasis on communities of color and vulnerable populations across Milwaukee County.

African American Affairs

• The Milwaukee 2022 budget expanded the scope of the Office of African American Affairs to become the Office of Equity and creating its first Chief Equity Officer. With the expansion, Milwaukee County’s commitment to African American residents and communities remains a top priority.
• OOE provides targeted outreach and community capacity building focused on examining, defining and addressing issues central to the rights and needs of African Americans across Milwaukee County. Learn about its new Strengthening African American Families Imperative.
• OOE’s offices are in the heart of Milwaukee’s predominantly African American Harambee community on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive and Clarke Street. In addition to housing staff, it also serves as an outreach facility targeted to African American residents where they can engage directly with county departments and services year-round.